Now that the dust has settled on another edition of Red Bull Rampage, let’s take a deeper look into what we spotted from the sidelines.
1. Brandon Semenuk Broke Records
Brandon Semenuk was the rider to beat at this year's Rampage. After winning the event in 2019 with a 92.33, all eyes were on him to see if he could secure the top result again. After a disastrous first run, he would be the first rider down for run two, managing to put together a historic Rampage run.
Scoring 89, Brandon managed to take the 2021 win and became the first rider to take four Rampage wins. He is also the first to win two Rampage events in a row. The closest riders before were Brett Rheeder (first in 2018, second in 2019) and Andreu Lacondeguy (first in 2014, second in 2015). Brandon also joins both Brett and Andreu in being the only three riders to ever secure a top-three finish in the event following a win.
2. Enduro Bikes and Single Crowns
A trend that was more apparent than ever before at this year's Rampage was the rise of the enduro bikes and single-crown forks. Looking at the top three riders, none were on your traditional downhill bike with a dual crown fork. Brandon was obviously on a single-crowned Session with his RockShox Zeb, Kurt Sorge was riding an Evil Insurgent and Reed Boggs was on a Yeti SB165. Overforked bikes are nothing new at Rampage, but it has been interesting to see the complete top three at this year's event not being filled with what you would think of as a traditional freeride bike. After Brandon's success this year, we wouldn't be surprised to see more single crowns in future events and since Evil and Yeti's enduro frames are up to the demands of Rampage so we don't see either brand launching a downhill bike anytime soon.
3. Every Finisher Qualifies for 2022Rampage this year saw a smaller group of riders take on the event with just 15 names on the list for 2021. With the top 10 automatically qualifying for 2022, every rider had great odds to make it to next year. This year had some heavy crashes before finals even began with Andreu Lacondeguy, Carson Storch and Brage Vestavik unable to compete on event day. When it came to the big event, we saw more crashes in the first runs as riders pushed their limits on the huge course. Tom Van Steenbergen was unable to complete his second run after a horrific crash in his first run that landed in him the hospital with
multiple injuries, while Vinny T elected not to do a second run after a huge crash off his biggest drop in his first run. We wish all the injured riders from Rampage this year the best with their recovery and we can't wait to see them all back on the bike.
With five riders injured at this year's event, the second runs saw only ten riders hike up to the start, meaning every rider dropping in should make it through to the 2022 event unless the qualification process is changed. Both alternates to the event, Reed Boggs and Thomas Genon, are on the list of ten athletes.
- Brandon Semenuk
- Kurt Sorge
- Reed Boggs
- Cam Zink
- Tyler McCaul
- Kyle Strait
- Thomas Genon
- Ethan Nell
- Jaxson Riddle
- Szymon Godziek
4. The Level Was Extremely High
While this year's Rampage featured some heavy crashes, it could be one of the most competitive years ever with every rider fitting in some wild drops, technical features and huge tricks into their runs. We don't envy the judges this year with everyone bringing something amazing and unique to their runs. In the past, we have had variety in runs with some opting for speed, others for tech, and other for tricks. But this year, it seemed that every rider that competed in finals brought a little bit of everything to their lines and it was a huge step up from the last time athletes competed at this venue in 2017.
While the top two finishers, Semenuk and Sorge, each claimed yet another podium finish on their revamped lines from 2016 and 2017, it was impressive that two newcomers to the site, Reed Boggs and Jaxson Riddle, were able to walk away hardware, as well. Reed Boggs finishing in third place and Jaxson taking the Style Award and his build team of Joel Shockley and Samuel Mercado taking the Digger Award.
5. Jaxson Riddle Was the Undisputed Fan FavouriteAs we found in
our poll, everyone had strong opinions on who they thought should have placed higher. While Brandon Semenuk scores highest in our poll for first place, Jaxson Riddle received the highest number of votes to take second and third place despite actually coming in ninth. Interestingly, if our poll decided the top three then Brandon Semenuk would have been first, Jaxson Riddle second and Cam Zink third. Jaxson also had the most votes to the following two questions: "Who was underscored?" and "Whose run did you enjoy the most, reglardless of scoring?"
1). Rampage is a boys club where the judges will always vote for their mates **cough cough** Sorge and vink **cough cough**
2). As much as i love rampage i feel they are soo hostile to letting new riders in only 2 new riders this year (jaxson riddle and brage)
3). we need more riders- 20% of the riders invited did not participate in the finals due to crashing out i propose raising the number of riders to 22 (top 10 from previous year get selected, top 5 from proving grounds, 5 wildcards and 2 "rookies" that have not competed at rampage
4). different locations too make it more fair those who competed in the venue in 2016/17 had a distinct advantage
5). out of those who "completed" a full run jaxson finished last and thats f*cked while kyle is still doing his 1 handers and getting top 6
1 & 2) When they opened it up more, more people got injured. There's something to be said for skewing invites towards riders who are more experienced. This event is really gnarly.
3) see above
4) They tried, permits didn't work out. I assume they'll be able to sort the permits for next year, or find somewhere else new.
5) Kyle does *no handers, and also big stepdown flips, flip t-bogs, and rides the gnarliest chute in the history of rampage with style and flow. See also points 1 & 2 above. I love that Strait is in the event because you know he's going to hit the biggest drop out there (and Cam's going to flip or spin it), but also the two of them will find the gnarliest, steepest top section possible—it won't get scored all that well—and they'll continue to do it because they think it's important to keep that element in the event
I have - attended as a spectator in 2014. Once you see the event live in person, your opinion will change. Trust me. Video does NOT do justice to the steepness/intensity of the terrain.
Strait and Zink scored high because their chute at the top of the course is the gnarliest thing on the entire mountain. It might not look as impressive as throwing a superman on a step-down, but its MUCH crazier.
I see your in Australia, so I understand the logistics of attending Rampage might be tricky. But, you HAVE to see it in person. It'll change your mind about every single point you wrote.
Salido blew himself up at the 2019 event and DNFed. Riddle threw down two strong top-to-bottom runs this year. That's the whole point: organizers want riders who stand the best chance of *finishing* the event. Yes the field felt small this year, but the wildcards who got the call-up bagged podium spots and style awards, so clearly they deserved their spots, and riders w/ nothing but DNF results from the past deserved to stay at home.
I completely agree, but for a different reason. I think we are starting to see lots of big, gnarly crashes because riders are having to outdo, the preceding year. it's getting bigger and more ridiculous becuase it's in the same place every year, and the only way to differentiate yourself is to go 1 bigger(turn it to 11 Nigel!!). This will get someone killed one day. I think a partial solution is to take it to different venues and let riders and dig crews be creative on a new canvas. It will allow for mind blowing riding with less 75ft blind drops with postage stamp landings in the gusty wind(my palms got sweaty typing that).
my $.02
#2. The level is high AF. Everyone is a critic. Have fun on your bike!
#3. Gotta spin to win.
#4. Fans appreciate new riders!
#5. 'nuf said
His first run was underscored it seemed like... He had a couple of bobbles and he dropped early on so the judges were still calibrating a bit.
Run 2 was flawless with more speed and aggression, the clicked superman, and the 50ft flip nac. That flip nac was in the Top 3 biggest moves of the day along with the TVS frontflip and Semenuk's tailwhip.
Also in terms of judging higher Ethan got 3rd there in 2017... so please explain what happened here? Have you ever been to Rampage? Have you ever seen the shit in real life? If not you have no opinion because you life in a fantasy of what it really is.
JP
They're not doing as much terraforming as you think, when I can only find two of the locations on Google Earth, much less in person, despite a lot of time spent trying to do so.
Most top athletes in MTB who compete in DH, enduro, etc who still face a high risk of injury generally seem very hungry to compete so long as they're not suffering burnout on a longer timescale. But the rider interviews for Rampage came off as bleak as hell to me. They all seem pretty shook lining up for their first runs, and I'd write it off as part of the marketing except that they're getting wrecked this badly this frequently. It's hard not to feel like this is spectacle is too much of a meat grinder that very few of these guys are really up to. Most of the finish line glee seemed to be about surviving more than stomping runs.
Watching Van Steenbergen actively contemplate his mortality for like 5 full minutes on the caveman move, back down, go on to 'make history', then immediately pay a huge price seems like the perfect encapsulation of what this event is for these guys. It felt pretty messed up to watch.
I switched the TV off after TVS crash.
I don't think this PB writer was brave enough to include the rising body count as something "we learned", but I know the team expressed their misgivings on the podcast before the event.
It's left a nasty taste in my mouth this year anyway.
But there is a responsibility of the organizers to not let it get too dangerous. F1 adjusts rules each year to keep the cars from going too fast & sketchy, & the sport survives just fine.
Award natural terrain use, so riders aren't sending it on huge built features. They are still going to crash but without the high mechanics of injury.
At an Olympic Freeski event, the half pipes are standard as at many ski resorts. Athletes are super dialed in and the run outs a huge, you see injury's but not nearly the same percentage of athletes are getting injured as at Rampage.
At one point they almost started talking about the body count in the comment booth in a reflective manner that went beyond the start list implications, and it got shut down quick. I have no doubt a promoter was in an ear piece screaming no. It was all the more painful knowing that all these people are friends and are clearly genuinely terrified for each other.
Specifically, how were the boxes "already ticked" for Sorge?
Sorge's run was 100% podium material. People think there is a deep Fest Series conspiracy infiltrating Rampage judging need to get their f*cking brains adjusted.
I remember the big chute, the gnoblin and Riddle's nose pressing style. Then I remember Semenuk's single-crown tricks and
Tom Van Steenbergen's front flip.
The rest kind of blurs into one!
IMO that's why everyone enjoyed Brendog's Rock and Canyon Gap line so much. Characterful. Shame we were robbed of seeing Brage's line
It's a bit like when I watch a BMX park event and come away with the overriding memory being a crazy creative transfer.
Semenuk’s bar spin into the hip and then tailwhip looked cool and was new, but i wasnt blown away. ItS jUsT sLoPeStYlE. UNTIL I saw the drone footage near the end of brodcast. It looked so much gnarlier. Ive watched that drone footage so many times.
03:42:45 for anyone interested, I really think this footage brings the scale of it all into perspective. https://www.pinkbike.com/news/5-things-we-learned-from-red-bull-rampage-2021.html
Remember 66s before that, the 66 was freeride back in the day.
Bikes.. we had freeride bikes back in the day too that were not dh bikes, even the likes of the Santacruz VpFree. ( Great bike and so far ahead of its time).
So... We have started to come full circle. Just the steerer has changed or is it marketing trying to get the masses to buy a new fork, just a newer version of an older fork.
I'd consider a Zeb set to say 180mm on a bike I had to pedal, but I'd never of considered a Totem for that same purpose.
Either way though, can we just marvel briefly at the idea of jumping off a cliff and putting that landing through a fork that ways just 2.3kg. To an oldy like me that's nigh on unbelievable!
He was riding a 170 mm Marzocchi 66. That fork was as "traditional freeride" as it gets, as were the Fox 36 and the Manitou Travis (up to 200 mm of travel!) at the time, even before the Totem.
Yeah seriously! I would be uncomfortable authorizing anyone to take a single crown I had ANYTHING TO DO WITH off these cliffs. Yikes!
@woody25: The totem was heavier, it was also a 40mm chassis, I raced them for a season or to as well, but they were really too stiff. The zeb is race proven within the Enduro circuit too.
Have we come really far since the Totem etc, probably not as far as you would think. If you look at the "progression" of a Dh fork. We removed being about to adjust high and low speed compression and rebound a number of years back and we have almost put that adjustment back now!
Example: I tried a line on my Lyrikk Ultimate (air fork) many times last week that I never had an issue with on my old 26" Lyrik R2CDH coil and never made it once as I couldn't get the front end to stick! its a slightly uphill line up and over some horrible roots on the way into a very steep trail. How annoying, bigger wheels, newer fork with a "better" damper and they kept stepping out on me. I have had a few instances of this with that "better" fork. Maybe time to put a coil in the front for that small bum compliance.
“Small bum compliance”
More of a Freudian slip than a traction issue
Whilst ~165mm enduro bikes are at an awesome level these days, I bet Reed and Kurt would appreciate a little bit more squish if their sponsors offered it.
Someone mentioned this on the PB podcast the other day and I thought it was an interesting perspective. When talking about 'underscoring' they countered that they thought the 'underscored' run could of been performed by all the riders who scored higher. I can't help but think that about Jaxson's run. I feel like it would be likely that all riders who scored above Jaxson could have likely done Jaxson's run (maybe not to the same amplitude). But I feel like Jaxson wouldn't of been able to do their runs. 360s and flat drops are hard tricks on features this big. As cool as supermans look, they aren't as hard. Judging them higher would be placing subjective value on 'coolness' of tricks, and I think that is a slippery slope.
Similar to Hollywood courtroom dramas where jury tampering is in play, just switch the Rampage panel with the Olympic figure skating panel. No one knows anyone and scores are sure to be...interesting.
These boys are freaking gnarly and the heart they put into this event is bigger than anyone will ever know. The show they put on for the World, the pressure they put on themselves and their desire to win is something the average person will never understand.
Judged events are extremely hard, and Rampage is hands down the hardest judged mountain bike event. And the fact the riders keep coming back year after year shows they don’t do this for the money, they do it because it’s in their freaking blood. For people to be on here saying it’s not interesting anymore, oh another back flip or no hander are the people that have never been to Rampage... and their comments honestly baffle me.
No more dig teams and sandbags!
At least the got rid of all wooden constructions.
It won't merely work without any line preparation or digging.
Uh... I don't think a crash should be considered a "feature" in an event of this consequence, but that's a nice way to gloss over the heavy carnage we saw this year. Didn't seem like as much celebrating at the bottom of the mountain this year, more like relief. I don't think I want to watch an event where the main emotion I experience during a run is fear and worry. 5 riders with serious injuries. I've always loved rampage, but after this year... not sure I'll be watching again.
My elderly father in law seems to enjoy it.
also pinkbike: youre a fckn keyboard spectator..
The risk-reward balance is out of wack, and Redbull needs to take action to better protect the riders and prioritize their health and safety.
Also, watching full suspension bikes do BMX tricks on groomed lines wide enough to land a plane on just isn't that interesting, and no longer has much of anything to do with the terrain. I think there was one steep spine ride that was raw terrain (and was bonkers). Everything else almost was manicured.
I absolutely love the event, but i have a few observations about its current format.
-The scoring seems to be a little condescending. Its freeriding, so riders are free to choose their line down the mountain. However, not all lines are scored equal, therefore line choice is actually an illusion if one actually hopes to be competitive in the
Competition. See Tommy G and Riddle's run for example.
-declaring a single winner seems ridiculous when we all know know runs didnt happen without a team of builders.
-Amazing riders seriously injuring themselves before the competition even starts. Its all or nothing?
-Home turf advantage is real. Semenuk's riding is amazing!
But he has been building and riding his own lines as a day job for the past several years. Rampage is just another week at the office for him. Meanwhile, other riders are likely contractually obligated to compete in as many other competitions as possible. Almost all of which have pre determined courses except for this one.
I love the direction Semenuk is pushing the sport, but is an unfair advantage that he is the only rider who gets to train year round for this style of event.
1 - "Stomped" is the only word to describe how something was completed, and must be used every sentence
1) do you know when the 2022 compétition will take place ? If not, how can you get this info ASAP ?
2) did any of you actually attend the compétition this year in Virgin, utah ? If so, any advise ? Where to stay ? How to Come ? When does it start ? When does it end ? Very practical things....
Thanks a lot for your help!
Nagralpi
Anyone?
Bring back the proper freeride gnar Rampage and stop this transformation into slopestyle...
You're whining is all over the place. Maybe get off the internet and try some breathing exercises.
These guys aren't risking their lives enough for you, good thing they aren't doing it for you then I guess.
I don't know if you understand topography, but there simply is only two ridges to get off the top of that giant Rock and both are gnarly as f*ck. Then theres an insanely steep chute, that despite being over 45 degrees steep is still a compromise because it doesn't include any other features on its way down like the 5 foot wide ridges do. Easy to say it looks like a bike park from behind a screen having no clue what it's actually like in person. Clearly these guys should have somehow made entirely new routes down in their allotted week of building, they should have moved tons of material with no machines, made jumps and drops with janky or no landings so the chances of death are nice and high because billreily isn't happy otherwise.
Yeah Rampage is different than it used to be, it's gotten bigger and gnarlier, all the features are now made by hand and the few routes down from the top are legit insane.